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>> you're watching "world news now" and abc's continuing coverage of the death of senator

edward kennedy at the age of 77. he passed away tuesday night at his hyannis home. >> jonathan karl joinsns us on e phone. a lot of talk already about legacy. this is somebody who had been on capitol hill sin 162. what's's the legacy going to be civil rights, health care reform? what will it be? >> reporter: only two senators have served longer, strom thurmond and robert byrd and neither have had the impact kennedy had. you've hit the major issues. civil rights was his driving passion, particularly in his early years. the first speech he gave as a u.s. senator on the senate floor was in favor of the sif rights acof 1964. clearly education has been a major issue for ted kennedy all

along. it was health care that motivated him more than anything. he was there for the creation of medicare. if you look at health care policy over the ensues four, five decades, ted kennedy's name is all over it. the creation of the cobra health insurance that is now there r people who, you know, lose a job and are able to still buy health insurance, that was ted kennedy's creation. he is all the way up to more recently working with george w. bush, republic president who he sparred with mightily, he worked with him to get prescription drugs as part of a been fit for medicare, worked with senator orrin hatch, republican of utah, arch conservative, who was elected to the senate in part by promising to fight against ted kennedy. he worked with hatch to creatat the health insurance program for children. so those are some of his legacies but it's such a massive career, it's hard to sum up quickly. >> of course as you mentiod, just the consummate congressional deal maker.

but kennedy was really part of one of the most storied families in america. a lot of people would say triumph and tragedies were equal measures in this man's life. >> no doubt. i was ststruck several years ag by something that robert kenned jr. said talking about his famous father and his famous uncle, president john kennedy. he said if you really look at american politics and on america, ted kennedy has had a great are imimpact than either bobby kennedy or john kennedy because of, you know, he lived longer but the fact that he was able to work through the united states senate, become the master of the senate, the lion of the senate and push through changes, sweeping changes in the way we live our lives. i'll give you another example. the americans with disability act, that was ted kennedy's

legislation. he worked with george bush, the first george bush, to get that billassed and signed into law and now,ou know, any time you're in a public place and you see accessibility for the disabled, ted kennedy was part of that. >> let's talalk about the last w months if we can. i know he for health reasons has not been able to return to the hill since i guess about april but he's been still working hard, working the phones, right? >> he has been he's not been able to play the central role in health care that he certainly wanted to play. he put his great friend chris dodd, somebody he is closer to than anybody in the united states senate, to kind o shepherd the bill througthe health committee. he workewith dodd. i talked to dodd continuously over the last several nths and he would say he was talking almost daily with senator kennedy over thehe phone. he would make calls when they were needed to be made but this

was not the role that ted kennedy wanted to be playing. he wanted to tre been in the middle of it, in the mix, striking the deals, fighting the fights and his absence was something that was really felt as this battle went forward. >> watching his deteriorating health, one of the things that stuck out in my head is that statement he made that everybody american should be able to get senators are entitled to..s. so looking forward, knowing what this man's legacy was and w wha he wanted to see accomplished, i mean, is this a setback for the fight? >> it's a tremendous setback. you know, there is a sense in which it could be a motivatg factor, you know, a ted kennedy memorial bil on health care. but it is such a monumental loss because ted kaefs the one of those unique figures in the

united states senate that could really strike the deal that seemed unstrikable. he was somebody who could bring along the left. he was the hero to the left. but he had that ability, unlike many of his colleagues, he had the ability to reach over and to bring along a republican -- look, health care, if it's going to pass it's going to require some significant compmpromises. you're already seeing a rebellion, especially in the house but also in the senate to me of the compromises that are being talked about, that would probably be necessary to get the votes needed to pass. well, if ted kennedy is there and he's encorsing it, they're not going to oppose something that has the ted kennedy stamp of approval.

>> jonathan karl, we want to thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> coming up we'll talk to abc's senior polital reporter who has cocovered the kennedys for yes. we'll be right back. all the freshness... ...and flavor... ...with absolutely no preservatives. it's no wonder fresh express is guaranteed to be fresh and delicious every time...

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reporters. rick, we know you covered kennedy while you were covering politics at the "boston globe." though this was a an anticipated death, it makes it no less sad and shocking. >> it is. politics is going to stand still for a while. if you spent enough time around washington, you developed respect for senator kennedy for what he was able to do as a legislator, a colleague, a friend. who epitomized what it meant to be a senator. in tire generations of senators look up to him and said immay not agree with him on much but this is how you're supposed to do this job. >> we know about his relationship with president barack obama. it's so fascinating to look back at the election of last year and see the role he played in that election and how the clintons perceived a role and that entire

dynamic. >> it was an absolutely critical moment in the campaign. president obama, then senator obama, had won into iowa and lost in new hampshire, questioning swirling about whether the democratic establishment could support him over the clintons. he talked about him as the heir to the camelot legacy. president obama talked about it as one of the high points of his life. >> you mention the notion of his family's legacy. that's certainly what a lot of people are talking about this morning. he really was sort of a the standard bearer of the brothers' liberal causes. he's the only one who made it to a silver hair age. >> that's right. he was very cognizant with the responsibility that came associated with that, the fact that he was the only one of his

brothers to be able to comb gray hair. i think that enhanced the legacy and the sense of responsibility. but this is a man who could have walked away from this game decades ago with nothing to apologize for but he stuck with it and he believed very fundamentally in the possibilities that poll tex offers to make people's lives better and i believe passionatesly, he loves, love, poll tex, being part of the process. >> you talk about his legacy, he ran for president, he lost. how much of an impact does that have on him personally? >> it was important to his development. he there was talk about possibly running given in '8. the fact that it he recommitted to the senator i think is the next three decades.

some of the best senators are the ones who say, you know what, this is where i can get the important work done. >> we'll be right back with more of our coverage of senator kennedy's death. you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? because their mobility experts are also medicare experts. and that means the scooter store is your best shot at qualifying for a scooter that costs you little to nothing. hi i'm doug harrison.

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>> we continue with our coverage of the death senator edward kennedy, the liberal lion from massachusetts. >> around 1 a.m. eastern time the family released a heart-felt statement. edward m. kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late tuesday night at home in hyannisport. we have lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives but the

inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. we thank everyone who gave him care and support over the last year and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. he loved this country and he devoted his life to serving it. he always believed that our best days were still ahead but it's hard to imagine any of them without him. >> so many people are weighing in on the death of the senator. including political foes. we have a statement from sarah palin via her facebook account saying i would like to extend our cities to the kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of senator ted kennedy. he believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions. >> and nancy reagan says given our political differences people are sometimes surprised by how close ronnie and i have been to the kennedy family but ronnie and ted could always find common ground and they had great respect for one another. tem and i found our common ground in stem cell research.

i considered him an ally and a dear friend. i will miss him. >> also in california some family ties. of course we know about his relationship with governor schwarzenegger. he released a statement saying maria and i are immensely sad about the passing of uncle teddy. most importantly he was the rock of our family. he was a man of great faith and character. >> and of course for the past year and a half we've really been watching sort of the play out of his deteriorating health, watching as he was first diagnosed with brain cancer, underwent the first successful surgery. in a lot of ways i think people knew this was coming. it is nonetheless a very sad passing. >> it was in may of 2008 he had first had the seizures and collapsed. the doctors said he had a

successful surgery. you know whenever there's a tumor like this it's very scary. >> we'll be right back with our

>> we pass along the sad passing of senator edward kennedy, the liberal lion of the senate has lost his fight with brain cancer at the age of 77. the news came to us from his family's home in hyannisport around 1 a.m. eastern time. >> he died just a little over an hour before that time. david muir was reporting from outside the family compound. >> reporter: good morning. extraordinarily heavy hearts for the kennedy family here at the

kennedy compound. just down the road behind me where we learned just before midnight this evening senator ted kennedy succumb to brain cancer. it was a year ago last may. it's been a valiant battle. he's spent much of the time here at the kennedy compound, been seen out sailing, though the family told us in recent days the bad days outnumbered the good. there had been word his condition had worseened in recent days. the family did release a statement saying edward m. kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late tuesday night at home in hyannisport. we have lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. just off the coats of martha's vineyard, president obama and the first lady and presidential

children are on their first vacation. there are been reports the president might be visiting ted kennedy presumably to talk about the health care debate and to check in on the senator's progress. we do not know at this point whether or not and how soon the president will be visiting with the kennedy family after himself hearing the news late last night that senator ted kennedy has succumb to the brain tumor. of course congressman patrick kennedy of rhode island all by his side in the last few hours here saying their good-byes to their beloved patriarch, the man who became the patriarch of this kennedy family. >> of course senator kennedy was diagnosed with that malignant brain tumor back in may of 2008. despite the deteriorating health, he continued his family's legacy of public service and was active despite personal and public traj digs. >> he was someone who knew great

personal triumph and so much personal well documented tragedy as well. charles gibson has a look back at his life. >> it is the glory and the greatness of our tradition to speak for those who have no voice. >> he was the liberal lion of the senate and arguably the most important american lawmaker of the 20th century. ted kennedy was just 30 years old when he first won the senate seat formerly held by his big brother john. >> i pledge that i shall dedicate ul of my frennins and will for serving you in the united states senate. >> for only 11 months they served together. until dallas 1963. >> it appears something has happened in the motorcade booth.

>> president kennedy has been shot dead. >> reporter: within a year ted kennedy would have his own brush with death, bearly surviving a small plane crash. then in 1968 there was another assassination, bobby kennedy killed while campaigning in los angeles. >> is there a doctor in the house? >> my brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life. to be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. >> reporter: ted kennedy's public display of strength was followed by unwanted headlines. after a party on martha's vineyard, his car plunged off a narrow bridge on chappaquiddick island. his passenger, mary jo kopechne,

died. >> reporter: chappaquiddick with haunt him the rest of his life. still, in 1980 ted kennedy try to fullily what many saw as his destiny. a campaign remembered most for the words that ended it. >> for me aify hours ago this campaign came to an end. for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endure, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. >> reporter: kennedy then rededicated himself to his work on capitol hill. he was always a champion for the underprivileged, health care, assumer critics. his later years brought more personal troubles and another family tragedy. i am in hyannis have been here

obviously through the weekend because of the rain crash that health insurance apparently resulted in the deaths. >> but also another moment in the sun right before super tuesday kennedy's endorsement lend credibility and momentum to the obama presidential campaign. it's time again for a new ren yags of leadership. >> reporter: kennedy's diagnosis with a brain tumor in may 2008. he was back on the senate flower just week after surgery and he electified the country but making a surprise appearance at the democratic convention where he echoed his famous rally be cry. >> the worm begins a knew, the hope rises again and the dream lives on.

>> it's worth noting, the dietz you saw happened a year ago yesterday. of course, so many people were doubt blessed in terms of being able to -- we spoke with cokie roberts. hooer's what she had to see. >> reporter: his almost half a century matches some of the great names of the past, people like danny web star. other leadership of lading on both sides. the fact that those are people who issued the first statement is something that tells you a great deal about who he was, you know, mrs. that liberal and he

was. he was a smokesman for the union clags for the people who had no voice but he also how to did that by workings would the rile at all times. >> now he knew when to cut the deal, what to leave on the table. >> office okay to take away. but when he went back, he has declierd to sell it because they admired him so much and understood he was going to be elling also a very pleasant approach person. shun you wend to be with, with a great sense of you'resoron you may it edie for people were -- to sort of being in his aura but

also to staun what he was -- the substance of what he's dealing with. >> cokie robert on the we of senator at that have. he said maria and i are immensely saddened as the passing of social justice. most importantly he was the rock of our family, a lipping, great faith and character. he >> when you hear kennedy, it is so insome monks, mote

>> he was one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the senate and this morning he has died. this is a abc news continuing coverage of the death of senator edward kennedy at the age of 77. >> and of course he leaves behind a huge family and a wife of almost 17 years now, vicky, who diane sawyer had a chance to speak with, along with senator kennedy at the time. >> reporter: in calm waters and in rough seas, vicky kennedy at her husband's side, anchoring his public and personal life for the past 17 years. she was always there during his illness, her trademark smile, her trademark strength. >> she is a great source of optimism and competence for him. no one does a better job of protecting him, standing up for him, giving him god advice, even when he doesn't want to get it. >> you can see it in the e-mail she sent to friends and family when he was diagnosed last year are bringing them up to date on

the senator's condition, giving a sense of other own resilience, including a joke. victoria was well suited to a life of family and service. >> we are working to the to protect our children from gun deaths and injury. >> a lawyer and a mother, she and ted kennedy found friendship changing. >> we had a very old fashioned slow paced courtship where he'd come over for dinner and hang out and he'd help the children with their homework. it was a garageual deepening into family friendship that was something that turned into a lot more. >> during my courtship, i realized i didn't want to live my life without vicky.

>> they stood together to the end, showing how it's done when love and valor must be one. >> so many credit with her with skillfully balancing the sometimes con nebting roles of being a career woman and the mother of two young children. she is someone that we heard from throughout the years and is in deep mourning right now. >> in the last years of his life, right up until the end. we've been getting statements from politicians and political foes. we have one there george h.w. bush. while we didn't see i always respected his steadfast public services. i invited him in high lifebury to seef the bush award for

excellent in a leader who answered the call to some 47 years. close as remarkable chapter in that boppy's history. we'll be right back with more coverage.

>> you're looking at a live picture in hyannisport, massachusetts and the kennedy compound. >> you can see authorities gathered there, certainly the media is starting to gather there as the coverage of this story continues. this is huge news this morning in boston and our abc affiliate wcvb is up all night covering the story just as we are. we want to take a look at some of their coverage already in progress.

>> sisters were on the train and they decided to have a limmerick contest. at each stop, ted kennedy versus john kerry, at each stop they had to write a new limmerick, get out of the train and recite it. based on how the crowd reacted, that sister would be deemed the winner. the three sisters that were there treated him like the baby of the family. it was so endearing to say i don't think kennedy was up on that one and they were judging him and it was hysterical to see them as siblings and being so competitive in this political yet very fun situation. and but every inch the competitive people and they were tough on him just judging the limerick. so it was really endearing to see. >> yet as the baby of the family there's plenty of evidence and lots of story to go around he

quite the character as a young man. >> you hear what a great sense of humor he had and the pranks. as the youngest in the family, nobody was really groom being him for everything. yet it ted kennedy by his own pluck in many respects not on outdid everybody absent being elected president but again, probably having achieved more than jack kennedy was able to do in his life time. he was able to do it all on his on. he had to work very hard for all of it and his parents were very tough on him from gam a to his weight to everything. but he was just so good natured and so good humeored about everything. i think you saw that throughout.

i might add congressman capuano has the privilege of serving in the seat that kennedy had. >> i was listening to the bbc being printed here. it shows you the headline "kennedy dead at 7 ." again, listening to the bbc there was quite the story there in terms of international reaction. >> you would expect that. you would definitely expect it. and in particular for everything he had done for relations improving peace in hire land. certainly there has been a worldwide interest in senator ted kennedy. >> kennedy some years of his earliest part of his life.

they were great tales for his time there. it was a great adventure. >> all of the kennedies have great memories from that. >> i think there's this little story at the tally and he had the briny instam attic camera but it was up side down. with seeing another rob going into the course of same james and he'sers inlessly picked on about that. >> obviously a person who started with a very privileged exist epps but yet became a hard worker and tenacious leader in congress. >> let's bring congressman michael yap want owe back in. we have helt you on since a long time. we know it's the middle of the

night. we'll check back with our sources as we continue the coverage of ccc 3. assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit information and free scooter guarantee. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. why should you call the scooter store today? because their mobility experts are also medicare experts. and that means the scooter store is your best shot at qualifying for a scooter that costs you little to nothing. hi i'm doug harrison.

pay little to nothing out of pocket. how do we do it? we know what it takes to get you your power chair it's our strength. it's our mission. and we back it up with the scooter store guarantee. if we qualify you and medicare denies your claim for a new powerchair or scooter, i'll give it to you absolutely free. i paid into medicare all my life, and when i needed it the benefit was there for me. the scooter store made it so easy. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. the scooter store got me back out in the world again. talk to. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you.

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including risk of suicide ma occur. if you experience any of these behaviors or reactions... contact your doctor mmediately. wake up ready for your day-- ask your healthcare provider for 2-layer ambien cr. >> this is abc news continuing coverage of the death of senator edward kennedy at the age of 77. >> he was certainly a very outspoken man, figure, in the democratic party. here he is in his own words. >> meeting the health needs of our senior citizens is a problem that touches every child, everything parent, every grand apparent. it is casting a shadow of over the lives of three generations of americans. >> my brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death

beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong add right to wried it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. >> like my three brothers before me, i pick up a fallen standard sustain by our memory of -- i shall kiery ford that special commitment to justice, to excellence, to courage that dish their lives. >> for me a few hours ago this campaign came to an end. for all those whose cares have been our concern the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope >> applause. >> she has gone to got and she is open.

and at this minute she is happily pre siding at a henchly tables. with jack and kathleen, with bobby and david. she will be there ready to welcome the rest of us home someday. of this i have no doubt. >> our troops deserve better. i think the american people deserve better. they deserve competency. baseball it's three strikes and you're out. what is it for the secretary of defense? >> this is the cause of my new life, new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee every american north, south, east, west, young, old, will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. >> an issue he fought for so hard in the last year of his life. this is the end of an era.

>> so many people said he's into a family of oversufferers. so he really has

>> senator edward kennedy has passed away at the age of 77 after a year and a half battle with brain cancer, he passed away late tuesday night at his family's home in hyannisport. >> abc news continuing coverage of his death continues this morning here with us. it was nearly five decades spent on capitol hill, 47 years filled with good times and some not so

good times. ion donvan has a look back. >> reporter: he was 77 years old when he died today. the name his brothers made legend and it was his burden to live up to. but joe, john and robert died young while ted, the youngest, he got a full term on his earth, those 77 years time enough to honor the family name but also time enough to disappoint. >> nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight. >> reporter: it was the honor side of the equation in denver, 2008, where they would soon nominate barack obama. but when kennedy showed up, >> there knew it was his last convention. >> the hope rises again! and the dream lives on. >> reporter: but he still had it, could still hit the high

notes. and this ted kennedy they lionized. right here and now he was equalled to the legislate end. he embodied it. he roared it. but contrast that to the almost confessional speech he delivered at harvard more than 17 years ago when he was nearly 60. >> i recognize my own shortcomings. the faults and conduct of my private life. i reallyize that i alone am responsible for them. and i am the one that must confront them. >> reporter: so often incurring as he said in that harvard speech -- >> the disappointment of friends

and many others who rely on me to fight the good fight. >> reporter: good or not, fight was part of the family ethic and he was born edward moore kennedy, february 22nd, 1932 into a life of privilege combined with ambition and some of it ted got right. he got into harvard, played football there, too, and, well, but then he disappointed, caught cheating for a banish exam. he was booted for two years. but having served in the army and going to law school he elernld having developed a splendid political gift for getting along with people, joining his brother's campaign for presidency. >> it was his family's golden

moment. he would be senator from massachusetts uninterrupted for the next 47 years. but not without, again, wavering between strength and weakness. strength when john was murdered in 1963 and then when his brother bobby was assassinated almost five years later, it was that occasion bobby's funeral, where ted demonstrated a second extraordinary political gift, eloquence and authenticity when the moment needed it. >> those of us who loved him and who will take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world. >> it was 168 and the burden had become his. and so it is astounding to witness this speech just over one year later. >> there is no truth, no truth whatever to the widely

circulated suspicions of inmoral conduct that have been leveled at my behavior. >> it was the chappaquiddick incident that like the legislate ends of his brothers would also shadow his career, driving with a young woman who was not his wife he went off a bridge. she drown and he escaped and waited nine hours to report what happened. massachusetts returned him to the senate the following year, but now that he was the kennedy, the question was could he ever live down chappaquiddick? he let two presidential elections pass before tossing his hat into the ring. >> tim: stop i formally announce i'm a president for --

today i formally announcing i am running for president of the united states. >> the campaign went poorly, he lost the nomination and never ran for president again. but listen to what he said as he walked away from that last white house race. >> for me a few hours ago this campaign came to an end. for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never dry. -- die. >> it was a kind of transformation, no longer chasing a kennedy in the white house dream, he set out to make himself mark in the senate and this would turn out extraordinarily well thanks again to his gift for getting along. he became a master persuader, even remaining on good terms with ideological foes like ronald reagan. he was instrumental with

creating martin luther king day, worked for campaign finance reform, successfully pushed the family and medical leave act and authored no child left behind. above all he fought for health care reform with less spectacular results. but at that he kept on finding and that would sustain his standing. he would need that. many of his best years in the senate were a mess in his private life. divorced he was often seen drunk and womanizing in his 50s. and one more scandal when after a night partying with his nephew, his nephew was later accused of rape. thus it was that over exposed and up for reelection with plunging poll numbers, kennedy made that confessional harvard speech, admitting that he had disappointed so many but also saying this: >> i believe that each of us as individuals must not only

struggle to make a better world but to make ourselves better, too. >> reporter: that was in 1991. we know, now, that in the nearly two decades he had left, ted kennedy did in fact work to better himself, he married again, the scandals stop and never to wear the mantle commander in chief, who earned a different one, the lion of the senate. perhaps not the stuff that legends were made of but ted kennedy he was behind something else to measure, the record of life, lived in full with all its ups and downs. >> i'm an very realistic and honest look back at the senator's life. some of those things people doesn't want to remember. those are the thing as lot of people won't remember. >> there are those who say those are the things that shaped who he became in his later years on

capitol hill. camelot's youngest brother dead at the age of 77. when we come back, a journalist who worked closely with the senator talks to us about a book he's writing now. i'm a diabetic and i want you to know over 230,000 u.s. their diabetic supplies through liberty medical. and that begins with the one touch®ultra meter. easy to use, fast results... at no additional cost! liberty helps keep you on track by delivering diabetic supplies to your door... with liberty i always have someone to talk to and now call now to receive a diabetic cookbook free. additional cost and find out why 230,000 u.s. doctors and over a million people with diabetes trust liberty medical. liberty, we deliver better health.

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announcer: call the number on "your screen for your free consultation, information kit, video and test drive certificate. >> senator kennedy at the age of 77 has lost his fight with brain cancer. >> this is abc news continuing coverage of the senator's death. we want to listen to ed klein, the former foreign editor of "newsweek" magazine, just finished a book about the senator. he spoke earlier with our boston affiliate wcvb.

>> the last half century we can say that ted kennedy certainly had no equal as a legislative genius. a very interesting point because his brothers, jack and bobby, were of the opinion, which turned out to be correct, that he was the best politician in the family. each of the kennedy men had to overcome an awful lot and jack had to overcome a great number of illnesses, deformed back, he did that. bobby had to overcome the incredible grief he felt when his brother was assassinated and you're right about ted. he was the least and the last, ninth of nine children, the little brother who's nickname

was fat stuff who was the one who broke into song and made everybody laugh who was the butt of a lot of jokes in the family, who never could quite catch up to his brothers as they were growing up because they were so much older and bigger and stronger than he was. and who also was never looked upon by his parents as someone who needed to be groomed for the greatness that his father had cut out for his older brothers because his father thought there were so many ofs they but of course that role was thrust upon him and what i think is so amazing about his career is that he rose to occasion. >> since his death late tuesday night, we've been hearing a lot from his colleagues.

this's been an international response. we wart to tell you what he had to say: he said he's a figure that inspired people around the world. blair says i saw his focus and determination first hand in northern ireland where his practical equipment. i would devaul the day the government restored. >> benjamin netanyahu said he's been a great american patriot, a great friend of is rahal and he will be sorely missed. >> you just saw some coverage from wvvv. whel look at another room of how

they're growing.

>> he was the last of the kennedy brothers, a tireless lawmaker who spent some 47 years on capitol hill shaping public policy. this morning senator ted kennedy is dead at the age of 77. >> and our boston affiliate wcvb has been covering what's happening in the city throughout the course of the morning. we want to join them and their live coverage.

>> there is a new wave of change all around us and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination. not merely victory for our party but renewal for our nation. and this november the torch will be passed again to a new generation of americans so with barack obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. the work begins anew. the whole rise again and the

dream lives on. >> we have our ailing senior senator able to deliver such a powerful moment. that really is a moment to stay there, the room needs lick tricks. but the two important messages he delivered one was change which is barack obama's change through but in a convincing, compelling, that only could denny he was. and passing the torch to but for ted to say that guantanamo bay about an international. >> anything that came from senator can heed and it harkened back to 1980.

>> i had the same feeling that night in denver that i had in madson square garden. had you to admire kennedy not on for delivering that speech but if you look at that hand it's bandaged where he was receiving treatment for his illness. and so the fact he could get up there, give that speech and nobody in that season tr on their feet? it was an amazing moment. >> in the best care scenario, if it was up to ted will you mrrp question the -- no one was quite sure to leave it up to kennedy.

>> which means we feel about the fact he wasn't been able to health care form. the cause of his life. he b -- can you talk about how that must have affected our senior senator not to have been there with president obama. >> but the fact is it had to have been so frustrating forted kennedy. no doubt he felt if he was there, he could bring the party tonight. high ted came to probably very painful for him it witness. >> a look at how our boston

affiliate is covering the story. when we come back, we'll look at hour the blom is

cancer, the liberal lion has died this morning. he was 77 years old. we're getting our first look at how boston media, where he called home is covering the story. here is the "boston globe," the headline, saying kennedy dead. the liberal lion of the senate, the cymbal of family dynasty.

>> when you think about how long he served. the article delves into the motion his personal and political failings may have prevented him from realizing the hoping prize of the vehicle. this is a -- has been so much coverage. but there's still so much woo his passing. >> so much to overcomes assassinated, his third brothers also died. he was the last of the kaet planned. he had thighs highly revered brothers, people don't know much about him. ours the course we are hearing more from close friends of kennedy this morning. here's state to the "boston globe" from gerard fearity.

no matter who were, he was there to give you a hand. you always was concerned about the while -- from when paula d kennedy cade who is chairman. he set without question senator kennedy the xhim and social justice. it certainly we're hearing is the sake of which ever sid youant on and that's >> we knew that this was

inevitable. nobody knew when this would come. it comes a year and a day after his fiery speech at the democratic national convention. >>